Hugh Jackman’s latest installment of the X-Men saga may not be wowing critics, but fans are still showing his trademark character, Wolverine some love at the box office for “X-Men Origins: Wolverine.” Maybe that’s because in real life, Jackman is a peacemaker and just wants everyone to get along.
At least that’s what I gather from a recent Parade Magazine interview in which Jackman talked extensively about his religious studies , specifically how he has devoted himself to learning the principles taught by the School of Practical Philosophy, which focuses on meditation and finding unity in everything in daily life. But following the school’s spiritual practices doesn’t exactly create harmony with one member of Jackman’s family–his father.

In the interview, Jackman describes his father as a born-again Christian “who takes his religion very seriously” and once took Jackman several times to Billy Graham crusades hoping the actor would convert to Christianity. Despite his father’s attempts to influence his son’s beliefs, Jackman says that that he sees evangelical Christianity as too limiting and that he chose to follow the School of Practical Philosophy because it was “nonconfrontational” and that the basic philosophy is “that if the Buddha and Krishna and Jesus were all at a dinner table together, they wouldn’t be arguing.”
Maybe not. But I think they would certainly respectfully disagree with each other if they valued the respective tenets of their faith at all, otherwise their faith wouldn’t be worth much in my opinion. And I guess that is what is always a little bit disappointing when I read about some celebrities discussing religion. There still seems to be the prevailing notion that all confrontation is bad, and that the only worthwhile religion is one that doesn’t offend.